Smoke billows over the southern Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabbal near the border with Israel following Israeli bombardment on Dec. 26, 2023, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (Credit: AFP)
An Israeli air strike on a residence in south Lebanon has killed a Lebanese-Australian man, his wife, and his brother, who was a member of armed group Hezbollah, security and local sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The strike late on Tuesday, part of a flare-up of border area hostilities between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, hit a home in the town of Bint Jbeil, where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah enjoys widespread support.
"Enemy warplanes raided, before midnight, a house...in the center of the town of Bint Jbeil," around two kilometers from the border, killing a man, his brother and his wife, Lebanon's National News Agency said, cited by AFP. The NNA identified the dead as Ali Bazzi, his brother Ibrahim and his wife Shourouk Hammoud.
"Ibrahim Bazzi had come to Lebanon a few days ago from Australia, where he has resided for years, to take his wife Shourouk with him and settle in Australia," the NNA said. It added that another family member was wounded.
When Reuters asked about the incident, the Israeli military said one of its jets had struck a Hezbollah military site overnight in Lebanon. Australian media quoted a spokesperson for Australia's foreign ministry as saying it was aware of the report and was seeking confirmation.
Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian Islamist faction Hamas, has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel across Lebanon's southern frontier since the eruption of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in early October.
Hezbollah launched the most rockets and weaponized drones against Israel on Wednesday that it has in a single day since the spate of daily clashes began, security sources said.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its jets had targeted a number of Hezbollah military sites and other locations.
Israeli air strikes and shelling have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children, elderly and several journalists. Exchanges of fire have been largely confined to the border area, although Israel has conducted limited strikes deeper into Lebanese territory.
On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and nine soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, according to figures from the military. Israel has been pushing for Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, which lies about 30 kilometers north of the border.
On Tuesday, Israel's military said an anti-tank missile fired by the Iran-backed militant group wounded nine soldiers as they went to assist a civilian wounded in an earlier strike.